


Damsel in Distress

by wth_am_i_writing



Category: VIXX
Genre: Aristocracy, Arranged Marriage, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-27
Updated: 2018-12-27
Packaged: 2019-09-26 11:20:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,883
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17140829
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wth_am_i_writing/pseuds/wth_am_i_writing
Summary: He was needlessly rude when he should have been grateful. It seemed like something extreme like that had to happen in order for him to realize what a brat he was being.





	Damsel in Distress

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Masquerade](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/443138) by storiesbyvinter. 



> Originally posted on Tumblr on August 19, 2014.
> 
> Original Author’s Note: I am working on requests, but when Vinter posted a fic, I got inspired to write this fic. xD; I asked her first if it was ok. I really like turning tropes on their heads. The original request sent to Vinter was about Hongbin hating his lover, and I took that into consideration when I started this, but my main interest was the “rescuing” aspect of “Masquerade”, and I love the whole aristocracy stuff too so… Anyway, this was the result. The way I have it set up, the world is kinda like Taisho era Japan or industrializing Europe where the aristocracy was getting encroached on by wealthy businessmen. Uhm, enjoy?

_“Her? You can’t be serious.”_

The look on your fiance’s face when he was officially introduced to you for the first time was etched into your memory, clear as day, and something you remembered often. Brow set, squinted eyes, pursed lips; he’d been less than happy that the homely merchant’s daughter from the ball at the Marquis Kim’s house was the woman his father had betrothed him to. He’d taken it offensively that he, only son of Viscount Lee, had been engaged to a _merchant’s_ daughter. The Honorable Hongbin, a man known for his gentle and agreeable disposition, his handsome face, and good father. In theory, he was the perfect fiance. In actuality, he was a neglectful skirt-chaser that had little patience for your presence.

In March he was wooing Count Han’s daughter. In April he courted Marquis Kim’s daughter but had been chased away by the Marquis’ son, Lord Ravi–who was incidentally Hongbin’s _best friend_. In May he’d had an _affair_ with the second daughter of Duke Jung–who married her fiance in _June_. And _those_ were just the trysts in the current year that had lasted more than a few nights. He regularly visited brothels with Lord Ravi and regularly whisked young ladies away from parties. Rumors of those kinds made it to your ears all the time through your servants and Hongbin never cared enough to refute them.

It made your blood boil, made you feel like the laughing stock of the aristocracy. It wasn’t fair–Hongbin got to run around as wild as he pleased, while _you_ were stuck at home under lock and key, undergoing intense training on how to run a household so you wouldn’t make a fool of yourself once you’d entered your loveless marriage. You rarely got to attend the parties that your father got invited to, especially so after you’d gotten engaged to Hongbin. Your father always argued that you should go with _Hongbin_ , but Hongbin was rarely considerate enough to invite you, and you had few doubts as to why.

You hadn’t seen him for just over a month, but Viscount Lee has insisted that Hongbin bring you along to Duke Cha’s end of the summer ball. He’d picked you up, remained silent all the way despite your attempts at conversation, and had abandoned you as soon as you finished greeting everyone. Gentle and agreeable disposition your _foot_. He had left you alone in a room full of virtual strangers because your father was new money and didn’t have a title. He’d gone off to talk with Lord Ravi and Viscount Hyuk, leaving you standing awkwardly in a corner of the room until Viscount Ken–Hongbin’s third cousin–came over to talk with you.

Viscount Ken was a charming fellow and a god send. He introduced you to a few of his friends and kept bringing you into the conversation so you wouldn’t feel awkward. He was a charming fellow by any means, handsome in a quirky way and had a knack for knowing the perfect joke for the situation. Your conversation partners were more than impressed when he cracked a joke about the current economy and you fired back with a follow up quip that sent the other men laughing and left the women with polite smiles.

The conversation began to take a turn towards business and politics and the other ladies in the group began to slowly draw away. You stubbornly stayed put next to Viscount Ken and ignored the other women, finding the men’s conversation much more interesting.

“It’s a wonder Hongbin doesn’t bring you to these things more often,” the Viscount commented as the group started slowly breaking up to dance and mingle with others. “Most of the women here like to feign ignorance about politics, even in front of their husbands. Hongbin must have wonderful conversations with you. I’m jealous.”

“My Lord, there’s no _reason_ to be jealous,” you replied, scanning the crowd for Hongbin. You found him on the dance floor, some woman you didn’t know in his arms. “My fiance and I don’t do much talking when we’re together.”

“Ooh?” the Viscount questioned, raising a suggestive eyebrow. You let him interpret the words however he wanted. “Now I’m really jealous. Hongbin’s a lucky one.”

“If anyone should be jealous, it’s me. My Lord, if I may ask, who is the lady dancing with my fiance?” you asked, pointing Hongbin out to the Viscount.

“Aah, Baron Yeo’s youngest, but trust me, she’s nothing to be jealous over,” he replied, easing in closer to your side.

“You flatter me too much, my Lord.” You smiled demurely, turning up a bit of the charms your teachers tried so hard to beat into you. “But I’m afraid any woman who’s caught my fiance’s attention is worthy of being jealous over.” The Viscount smirked, looking you up and down quickly before offering you his hand with a slight bow.

“Then how about we give _him_ a reason to be jealous?” he offered. “May I ask you to join me for the next dance?” The smile on your lips grew; you like the idea even though you knew Hongbin wouldn’t even be the slightest bit concerned.

“I would be _delighted_ , my Lord.” You gave Viscount Ken a slight curtsy before giving him your hand. When he straightened, he brought it to his lips and pressed a kiss to your gloved fingers. The Viscount stared into your eyes, expression quite serious, undertones of desire lurking in the depths of his eyes.

You felt a rush of excitement run through your body. _This_ was the feeling of going out and playing around. Your father always sheltered you too much, so you never got to experience what you’d more than amply heard about. But Viscount Ken was standing in front of you, lips on your knuckles and staring at you with an expression that made you hope he’d take you away and have your maidenhead. Hongbin didn’t deserve it anyway; he probably had a venereal disease from frequenting the brothels.

As the song ended and the next one began, Viscount Ken escorted you to the dance floor and took you in his arms. Though he wasn’t the best dancer, dancing with the Viscount was enjoyable even when he stepped on your toes. He would laugh nervously and apologize every time he did so, so you let it pass, finding the reaction endearing. When the song ended, you stayed for the next, enjoying the exercise. Three months until your wedding and you’d only danced with Hongbin once, right after you got engaged. It was another thing on the ever growing list of things that made you despise your fiance–you loved to dance.

Over the Viscount’s shoulder, you caught Hongbin headed towards a rear exit with Baron Yeo’s daughter on his arm. You felt your blood boil at his audacity, the anger slipping onto your features for a moment before you reigned it in and turned to look back into the Viscount’s eyes with a pleasant smile. When the song ended, the Viscount escorted you off the floor and over to the refreshments.

You were just starting on a glass of wine when you noticed Baron Yeo’s daughter across the room talking with some other women, Hongbin missing from her side. Sweeping your gaze over the room, you still couldn’t find him. Sensing something was wrong, you excused yourself from Viscount Ken’s side and headed for the exit you’d seen him head towards earlier.

The door lead to a hallway flanked with doors to several other rooms. You went down the hall cautiously, sure that you weren’t allowed in this part of the manor, but your concern for Hongbin’s well being outweighed that. As you went deeper into the manor, you began to hear sounds of a scuffle. You lifted your skirts and picked up your pace, going as fast as your skirts and heels allowed you to on the plush carpet. You finally stumbled across an open door and the location of the fight.

Hongbin was struggling against two men, both larger than him. He managed to land a punch on one of them, but it did nothing to stop them. Knowing that you didn’t have enough time to get the guards, you decided to act. You grabbed the first thing you saw that could be used as a weapon–a candlestick from the small table by the door–and swung it at the thug closest to you with all your strength. There was a crack as the candlestick his hit the thug’s head and he went down. It was at that moment that Hongbin realized you were in the room, so shocked that _you_ had been the one to rescue him that he froze.

The other thug released Hongbin to go after you, but you tossed the candle from the candlestick and used the pointed spear that held the candle in place to fend him off. Hongbin regained himself and caught the thug in a headlock. You took the chance to attack, seeing that Hongbin wouldn’t be able to restrain him for long, and kneed the thug in the crotch before raising the candle stick and hitting him in the head. There was another sick crack and the thug fell to the ground with the base of the candlestick. You stared in horror at the candlestick, then down at the thug. Surely you hadn’t hit hard enough to _kill_ him; you weren’t that strong. But then you noticed that it was just silver leaf covering wood.

“For a Duke, this is a really cheap candlestick…” you observed, investigating the broken piece of the candlestick. He must have been going through financial difficulties and sold off the original candlesticks and replaced them with cheap look alikes.

“Y-you broke it,” Hongbin stuttered, looking at you with horror.

“Forget the candlestick, I can replace that easily. It costs maybe 200 Kranz. That’s nothing. My dress was more expensive.”

“Y-your dress–” his tone turned more horrified.

“The candlestick just looks expensive, but it’s really not–” you started to explain further, not wanting to deal with his dislike for commoners, but he cut _you_ off mid explanation.

“ _No_ , your dress, there’s blood on it.” You looked down at your dress and sure enough there was blood splattered across the bodice and skirt. You whined, mourning the loss of your dress. It had cost 2,000 Kranz and was one of your favorites.

“Oh well. I can replace it,” you lamented with a sigh, clenching a clean portion of the skirt. Replaceable as it was, it’d probably cost more to replicate it than it had cost originally. “At least you’re safe. I don’t know what I’d do with myself if you’d gotten kidnapped because of me.”

“They weren’t trying to kidnap me over _you_ ,” Hongbin spat, straightening out his clothes. “They were trying to kidnap me to get to me father.”  You whirled to face him, sorely tempted to strike _him_ with the candlestick and see if it broke more.

“Do you _really_ not understand the situation your family is in? The circumstances around our marriage?” you hissed.

“I–” he started with surprised eyes, but you cut him off, too angry over his apparent ignorance to hear whatever he had to say.

“Your father is about to go into personal debt! His business is doing horribly and is bound to fail within the next few months without my father’s intervention. The Right Honorable Viscount Lee wouldn’t be able to cough up the ransom if his only son were kidnapped, so he’d have to go begging to _Mr. Park,_ owner of the Sunshine Trading Company, for it. Your father’s doing a pretty good job of hiding it, but obviously whoever hired these goons knows.” Hongbin deflated at your rant, staring at you with wide, sad eyes.

“I knew your father would be taking me on as an apprentice as soon as we were married, but…” He paused, closing his eyes and bringing his hand up to cover his face. “I had no idea we were in such a bad place financially. My father must be desperate to not go under if he’s turning to Mr. Park for help.” You felt the urge to hit him well up inside you again, but beat it down.

“Neglect me, run around on me, despise me as you will. I’ll return that behavior in kind once we’re married, but don’t carry that attitude towards my father. All you’re doing is acting like a spoiled brat and disrespecting your father when he’s trying to save you from being disgraced,” you hissed, advancing on him. Hongbin shifted back, raising his hands into the air.

“I-I–” Hongbin stuttered, as he backed up. One of the goons stirred and you turned to clonk him on the head again with the candlestick, the action quickly shutting Hongbin up. You checked to see that he and the other one were still breathing before turning back to Hongbin.

“I’ve had enough of this,” you sighed, energy drained. The night was ruined and you just wanted to go home. You reached up to your hair and started pulling out random bits of your updo and ruffling your hair. Hongbin looked at you like you were crazy.

“What the hell are you doing?” he asked incredulously.

“It’ll be embarrassing if it gets out that _I_ rescued _you_ from getting kidnapped. I’ll ruffle myself up like they were trying to drag _me_ off, we’ll make sure they can’t get out of this room, and then we’ll go together to get the guards,” you explained, starting to ruffle your dress to look like you’d been the one struggling. “With your trembling fiancee clinging to your arm, no one’ll know the difference.”

“You actually _want_ to play damsel in distress after all that?” Hongbin asked, stepping closer to you.

“It’s better than the alternative,” you sighed, turned around and leaving the room. Hongbin followed and you closed the door, securing it so they couldn’t leave easily. You latched onto Hongbin’s arm and did your best to get into the character of a scared and trembling woman who’d been assaulted, actually managing to get tears to well in your eyes by the time you’d gotten to the guards. You explained in a shaky voice that the men had tried to kidnap you and that Hongbin had saved you, and sent the guards to the goons. All the while, Hongbin played a concerned fiance, attempting to soothe you for show.

As soon as you were outside and in the carriage home, you broke apart and fell into silence, staring out the window. It wouldn’t have been appropriate to stay given the circumstances, so you’d both left. Viscount Ken had managed to catch you before leaving and lamented over what had supposedly happened to you and scolded Hongbin to take better care of you. He was truly a much more charming man than Hongbin any day, and you regretted not being able to spend the rest of the night by his side.

“When my father first told me he was thinking about arranging a marriage between us, I was happy. You had such a good reputation and had been quite nice when we spoke briefly at the ball we first met,” you confessed, not expecting him to answer. “But now I think I dread marrying you more than you do me.”

“If the situation were different, we could break it off now and go our separate ways,” Hongbin said dryly. You glanced at him, catching the pensive look on his face and tight line of his lips.

“When we arrive at my home, we’ll tell my father the same story we told the guards,” you sighed. “It’ll reach his ears sooner or later anyway.”

“And now you’re trying to protect my image in front of your father after you just told me you don’t want to marry me?” Hongbin asked, turning to look at you finally.

“It’s more than that. You should be grateful. My father will probably lock me back up in my room and refuse to let you take me out until we’re married, for fear that I’ll be snatched again. He’s frightfully paranoid when it comes to me,” you explained, not really blaming him since you were his only child. “And you can run around as you normally do, and I won’t have to see your face again until our wedding.” Hongbin frowned at your explanation.

“We should tell him the truth,” Hongbin said after a few moments, looking down at his hands.

“A sudden change of tune? I’d think you’d be happy to get rid of me for a few more months.” Hongbin sighed, shaking his head.

“Like you said earlier, I’m going about this the wrong way,” Hongbin murmured. “You don’t deserve to be locked up after you saved me.” You straightened, caught off guard by the words. “I… suppose I can take the hit to my ego,” he continued, tongue darting across his lips nervously. “Th–… Thank you, for rescuing me.” The words were mumbled so quietly you almost couldn’t make them out, but you’d caught them. A small smile pulled on the corners of your lips. At least it was a start.


End file.
